Though running in seven tries to earn a bonus point, CSU was made to work hard at Cale Oval to continue its unbeaten run.

With Bec Smyth missing from that Narromine line-up given she's on Super W duties with the ACT Brumbies, the Gorillas outfit that tested CSU was missing one of its big guns as well.

"It's probably the strongest side we've played all year and they're going to get a bit stronger when Bec Smyth gets back in there," CSU coach Peter Plunkett said.

"We still got away with a fairly good win, but there were long periods of play where we had to defend and they were quite enterprising in attack.

"They had quite a few new players, different players we hadn't seen, they'd been struggling with numbers when we've played them before, so it was good to see they had good numbers."

CSU began the top of the table match the better of the two sides, but was dealt a blow early in the opening quarter when captain Maddy Thomson left the field with an Achilles strain after making just one tackle.

Another of CSU's experienced core in Rachel Brown joined Thomson on the sideline not long after due to a shoulder injury.

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The Gorillas outscored CSU in the third quarter and the visitors lost a third player to injury in the final period - Meg Sprague twisting her knee in a tackle.

Under pressure CSU did momentarily lose its shape, but the students scrambled well in defence and were able to add to their tally of tries to extend their winning streak.

Still, Plunkett saw the value in his side being challenged as they build towards the finals.

"We definitely were tested, it was a really good wake up call for us and we've got a lot to work on going forwards - that's what you want," he said.

"It was good for them to play against a solid team. We had to do a lot more defending than normal and Narromine were very strong on the ball. It was pretty physical, nothing dirty, just good, hard football and they turned up

"They really came after us and that was great. In the last quarter we lost our shape a bit and it was all hands on deck to defend there for awhile, but they kept working for each other.

"Our best player for the day was Gaby Downing, she was really strong in the forwards where it was really hard, and our little maestro Steph Doyle, she had a really strong game."

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